Why do we do it? We slave over words. We pour our hearts onto a blank page. Instead of ink, we write with our blood, sweat, and tears. At home, our loved ones get neglected, while our work hours are spent with our heads in the clouds. And yet, we plow on. Why?

Agents reject us, publishers ignore us, and the only way we can see our novels in print is if we pay for it. And even then, the only people who will buy a copy are our loved ones (if we haven’t neglected them too much). So why do we keep writing when reality is falling short of our starry-eyed international best-selling expectations?Continue reading →

Hey, so today’s post will be a bit different. I was tagged by my writing friend Pat Esden for The Writing Process Blog Tour.

I’ll share a bit about my current work in progress and what my own writing process is like. Maybe you’re the same, maybe you’re totally different, but hopefully we can learn a bit about each other. Continue reading →

Sometimes life just sucks. It doesn’t go exactly the way you would write it. No loose ends neatly tied in bows. No happily ever afters.

But hold on! If life doesn’t work out perfectly, then why should your fiction?

In a world full of skeptics and analyzers, would anyone really believe it if your main character got everything they wanted? Would you believe it if it happened in reality? No! We’d all secretly be wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.

Okay, enough with the negativity. When life’s plot gets twisted, how can we as writers use our own personal experiences to navigate our storylines (if not our lives)? Continue reading →

“A writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, or because everything she does is golden. A writer is a writer because, even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.” – Junot Diaz

Amongst many changes and all the ups and downs that have taken control of my life in the last six months, I am still writing. My twitter feed may have dwindled, my blog outright suffered, but I held fast to the golden rule – NEVER STOP WRITING.

I admire those people who write at the same time every day like clockwork, come rain or shine. But sometimes life happens. It really just does. When life forces your writing to take a detour, how do you find your way back?Continue reading →

Family is great, huh? Some real characters. And Christmas is the force that brings us all together. For better or worse. But just because you’re taking a break from your keyboard to enjoy the cheer, doesn’t mean that you have to stop working. Grab your notebook, because you’re about to take a lesson in realistic relationships. Continue reading →